How many types of hcv

If you have chronic hepatitis C, you probably will not have symptoms until it causes complications. This can happen decades after you were infected.

For this reason, hepatitis C screening is important, even if you have no symptoms. Without treatment, hepatitis C may lead to cirrhosis, liver failure, and liver cancer. Early diagnosis and treatment of hepatitis C can prevent these complications.

Health care providers diagnose hepatitis C based on your medical history, a physical exam, and blood tests. If you do have hepatitis C, you may need additional tests to check for liver damage. These tests may include other blood tests, an ultrasound of the liver, and a liver biopsy. If you have acute hepatitis C, your health care provider may wait to see if your infection becomes chronic before starting treatment.

If your hepatitis C causes cirrhosis, you should see a doctor who specializes in liver diseases. Treatments for health problems related to cirrhosis include medicines, surgery, and other medical procedures. If your hepatitis C leads to liver failure or liver cancer, you may need a liver transplant.

There is no vaccine for hepatitis C. But you can help protect yourself from hepatitis C infection by. The information on this site should not be used as a substitute for professional medical care or advice.

Contact a health care provider if you have questions about your health. See, Play and Learn No links available. Twitter Facebook Vimeo SoundCloud. Hepatitis C Trust. Search form Search. Confidential helpline. Genotypes of hepatitis C. Charity registration numbers Charity registration numbers: Scotland SC, England and Wales , company number Contact Us Confidential helpline Email enquiries helpline hepctrust.

Sign up for newsletters. What should a provider do for a patient with confirmed HCV infection? What advice and messages should be given to patients diagnosed with hepatitis C? Which types of health-care providers can effectively manage patients with hepatitis C? What resources are available to providers who wish to manage treatment for patients with hepatitis C Is routine HCV genotyping required when managing a person with hepatitis C?

Should people with hepatitis C be restricted from working in certain occupations or settings? Should patients with acute hepatitis C receive treatment? What is the treatment for chronic hepatitis C?

Are patients undergoing treatment for hepatitis C at risk for reactivation of an existing hepatitis B virus HBV infection? How are these patients managed? Hepatitis C and Health-care Personnel. How can health-care personnel avoid exposure to HCV? What is the risk of acquiring hepatitis C after being accidentally exposed to HCV-contaminated blood or body fluids in the workplace? Other than needlesticks, do other exposures like splashes to the eye place health-care personnel at risk for hepatitis C?

Should HCV-infected health-care personnel be restricted in their work? How are health-care personnel managed after being exposed to the blood of an infected patient? Pregnancy and Hepatitis C. Should pregnant women be tested for HCV antibodies? Can a mother with hepatitis C infect her infant during birth? Should a woman with hepatitis C be advised against breastfeeding?

When should children born to HCV-infected mothers be tested to see if they were infected at birth? Who is at risk for hepatitis C infection? The following people are at increased risk for hepatitis C: People with HIV infection Current or former people who use injection drugs PWID , including those who injected only once many years ago People with selected medical conditions, including those who ever received maintenance hemodialysis 4 , 5 Prior recipients of transfusions or organ transplants, including people who received clotting factor concentrates produced before , people who received a transfusion of blood or blood components before July , people who received an organ transplant before July , and people who were notified that they received blood from a donor who later tested positive for HCV infection Health care, emergency medical, and public safety personnel after needle sticks, sharps, or mucosal exposures to HCV-positive blood Children born to mothers with HCV infection Is it possible for someone to become infected with HCV and then spontaneously clear the infection?

What is the likelihood of HCV infection becoming chronic More than half of people who become infected with HCV will develop chronic infection 6 , 7. Why do most people remain chronically infected with HCV?

Seven HCV genotypes and 67 subtypes have been identified 9. Possible exposures include Injection-drug use currently the most common mode of HCV transmission in the United States 2 Birth to an HCV-infected mother Although less frequent, HCV can also be spread through: Sex with an HCV-infected person an inefficient means of transmission, although HIV-infected men who have sex with men [MSM] have increased risk of sexual transmission Sharing personal items contaminated with infectious blood, such as razors or toothbrushes Other health-care procedures that involve invasive procedures, such as injections usually recognized in the context of outbreaks Unregulated tattooing Receipt of donated blood, blood products, and organs rare in the United States since blood screening became available in Needlestick injuries in health-care settings What is the prevalence of hepatitis C among people who inject drugs PWID?

What is the risk of acquiring hepatitis C from transfused blood or blood products in the United States? Do hepatitis C outbreaks occur in health care settings? CDC recommends that people who are diagnosed with hepatitis C be provided medical evaluation by either a primary-care clinician or specialist [e.

Providers should talk to their patients about the effectiveness and benefits of direct acting antivirals DAAs ; the importance of avoiding alcohol, because alcohol consumption can accelerate cirrhosis and end-stage liver disease; the need to follow a healthy diet and stay physically active, especially for patients who are overweight i. What resources are available to providers who wish to manage treatment for patients with hepatitis C?

Prevalence of spontaneous clearance of hepatitis C virus infection doubled from to Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol ;—3. Viral Hepatitis Surveillance—United States, Case-control study of hepatitis B and hepatitis C in older adults: Do health care exposures contribute to burden of new infections? Hepatology ;— Patient notification for bloodborne pathogen testing due to unsafe injection practices in the US health care settings, — Med Care ;— Pathogenesis, natural history, treatment, and prevention of hepatitis C.

Ann Intern Med. Natural history of hepatitis C. Clin Liver Dis. Westbrook RH, Dusheiko G. J Hepatol. Expanded classification of hepatitis C virus into 7 genotypes and 67 subtypes: updated criteria and genotype assignment web resource. Distribution of hepatitis C virus genotypes in a diverse US integrated health care population.

J Med Virol. Hepatitis C virus genotypes and viral concentrations in participants of a general population survey in the United States. Race, age, and geography impact hepatitis C genotype distribution in the United States. J Clin Gastroenterol ;53 1 — Definition and facts of liver transplant.

Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network. Health Resources and Services Administration, U. Department of Health and Human Services. National data website. Clinical Infectious Diseases. Global prevalence of injecting drug use and sociodemographic characteristics and prevalence of HIV, HBV, and HCV in people who inject drugs: a multistage systematic review.

Lancet Global Health. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. The discovery of HCV types and subtypes. The total number of HCV types solid line and subtypes broken line is indicated by year.